A new year, another Valentine's Day and customers are expected to spend more money on their loved ones this holiday compared to last year. A new report from the National Retail Federation found that customers will spend approximately $17.3 billion on chocolate, cards, dinner, jewelry and other gifts to show their feelings to their significant others.

On a per-person basis, that's approximately $133.91 - a $3 increase compared to 2013. Nearly half of poll respondents (48.7 percent) will buy candy, a third (37.3 percent) will give flowers and more than one-half (51.2 percent) will send cards to people they love.

Although spending is expected to be up this year, customers will still be looking for value when possible. They don't have the largest discretionary budgets, so Valentine's Day sales, product bundles, free shipping and other similar promotional efforts may play a critical role in getting customers to shop.

"Valentine's Day will continue to be a popular gift-giving event, even when consumers are frugal with their budgets. This is the one day of the year when millions find a way to show their loved ones they care," said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. "Consumers can expect Cupid's holiday to resemble the promotional holiday season we saw just a few months ago, as retailers recognize that their customers are still looking for the biggest bang for their buck."

In many ways, Valentine's Day is a miniature holiday season, so it can offer online stores a way to practice engaging customers with carefully targeted sales based on past browsing history or refine their order fulfillment and delivery efforts to ensure they make deadlines.